A NOVEL STUDY OF THE EXTREME THERMOPHILES: RHODOTHERMUS MARINUS, SULFOLOBUS SOLFATARICUS, AND THERMOBIFIDA FUSCA

Maciek Antoniewicz, Ph.D.The thermophilic organisms Rhodothermus marinus, Sulfolobus solfataricus, and Thermobifida fusca possess unique characteristics that make them relevant to potential industrial and biotechnological applications. Rhodothermus marinus grows in high salinity environments, Sulfolobus solfataricus grows in low pH environments, and Thermobifida fusca is able to utilize cellulose as its main carbon substrate. These unique abilities coupled with thermophilic organisms’ innate ability to grow at high temperatures (77°C, 80°C , and 55°C for R. marinus, S. solfataricus, and T. fusca respectively) , make these valuable candidates in the realm of biotechnology, to be utilized for tasks like production of low-boiling fuels and thermostable enzymes. In this study, the growth physiology and metabolism of each of these organisms is investigated. Using modern tools of metabolic engineering and systems biology such as 13C-metabolic flux analysis (MFA), a quantitative map of the metabolism can be generated, resulting in a greater knowledge of the organism and its by-products of metabolism. To understand general physiology, a combination of literature review and growth experimentation was utilized. The results of the study included media, temperature, and substrate optimization, as well as revelations regarding carbon substrate sources. For instance, it was shown that S.solfataricus is able to grow on xylose as efficiently as it grows on glucose. Regarding metabolism, successful characterizations of flux maps were achieved for R. marinus and T. fusca. For the S.solfataricus strain, initial hypotheses related to xylose processing pathways appear to have been incorrect, leaving room for further research and development of models.Mechanical Engineerin